The subject matter disclosed herein relates to an aircraft environmental control system. More specifically, the subject disclosure relates to a ram outlet header for an aircraft environmental control system.
Many types of aircraft use ram air flow for various purposes, such as in cooling systems for an aircraft. For example, ram air flow may be utilized to remove heat from various aircraft lubrication and electrical systems and/or used to condition aircraft cabin air. When the aircraft is in flight, the movement of the aircraft creates a sufficient source of ram air flow which can be used for the purposes described above. When the aircraft is on the ground or is operating at low speeds, a fan is typically utilized to increase air flow to the cooling systems. Cooling flow is drawn at a ram air inlet through a ram inlet header and heat exchangers to a ram outlet header, the fan, and a ram air outlet. The cooling flow can also directly supply cooling air for various components, such as fan and compressor bearings. A wide range of temperature and pressure combinations must be supported by components in a ram air cooling system to account for various loading conditions such as burst conditions, buckling conditions, acceleration, pressure cycling, and the like, while also controlling for weight within an aerospace environment.